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the amnion and chorion-around the ovum in the tube. I he

principal object of this paper is to call attention to the exist-ence of another membrane, external to the chorion, separableinto two layers, and not forming part of the wall of the tube.The paper was accompanied by the original preparation, and acareful drawing of it in its present state.

SOUTH HANTS MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICALSOCIETY.

AT the last meeting of the Society, Dr. WIBLIN, the Presi-dent, read the following paper on

EMOTIONAL PARALYSIS.

The term " Emotional Paralysis " originated with the lateDr. Todd, in a description of a kind of hemiplegia which, in itsmildest form, produces a total loss of speech, and is met withmost frequently in patients who have been subjected to somepowerful or exciting emotions of the mind. All authors, youare aware, describe most graphically that form of paralysis ofthe tongue and muscles of articulation which is constantlythe concomitant of hemiplegia and apoplexy; but emotionalparalysis, which is characterized by a total loss of speech, asso-ciated with difficult or imperfect deglutition, is a disorder ofvery rare occurrence. Dr. Todd, in his admirable lectures onthe various kinds of hemiplegia and brain diseases, makes apassing reference to this subject, and states that he, in hisextensive field of inquiry, had seen but little of the disease.Yet he considered it sufficiently marked to demand specialnotice. He says, "It occurs in men of hypochondriacal habits,and in women too. In its mildest form it may be distinguishedas ’emotional paralysis;’ or when it affects one side of the body,, emotional hemiplegia.’ It most commonly consists in a simpleloss of speech occurring under some strong excitement, the

power of speaking returning usually in a few days, and, indeed,very rapidly after the patient has regained the ability to pro-nounce one or two words, such as ’yes’ and no.’ " From thecases on record of this interesting disease we are led to believethat if the paralysing lesion be confined to some temporarycongestion of parts about the origin or course of the lingual andglosso-pharyngeal nerves, we may safely rely upon a very rapidreturn of the power of speech; and in the case of the patientat present under my treatment I have found that the diagnosisso ably depicted by the author referred to has been fully confirmed. I now propose to give the history and treatment oj

the case in question.About two o’clock r.M. on the 4th of July, I was called to a

gentleman, aged fifty-three, of robust constitution, weighingover sixteen stone, whom I found on his sofa, surrounded byattendants in great alarm at the condition in which he hadbeen brought home. For some ten days previous to the attack,he had been observed to be exceedingly desponding, andattached more importance to ordinary matters of business thanhe was accustomed to do; and on the morning of the abovedate, some trivial matter of business gave origin to a degree ofexcitement most unusual with him, which was followed bythis train of symptoms: he was incapable, on my entering, ofarticulating a single syllable; he had a full, bounding pulse,110 to the minute; flushed countenance, great heat of thescalp, the mouth drawn to the right side, the pupils natural,and he himself evidently participating in the alarm of thosearound him. On being questioned as to his condition, of whichhe appeared painfully cognizant, he burst into a fit of deepsobbing and crying. He was then requested to put out his

tongue, which he accomplished with some difficulty; it wasexceedingly foul, tremulous, and directed to the right side ofthe mouth. He had perfect control over the movements ofthe upper and lower extremities; and when asked if he was

suffering from pain anywhere, directly placed his left bandover the left side of his head. It was then suggested that heshould be carried up-stairs to bed, which proceeding he op-posed by his gesticulations, declining the assistance of every-one near him, and, walking firmly up two flights of stairs tohis bedroom, undressed himself, and, unassisted, got into bed.A large blister was applied to the nape of the neck, a briskpurgative administered, and a sheep’s bladder, containingpounded ice, was ordered to be kept constantly applied to thehead, particularly the left side. He passed the night in acomatose condition. By the morning his bowels had beenfreely relieved. The left side of the head was still exceedinglyhot, and his countenance flushed. On being aroused, he wasquite conscious of his condition, and made signs to his attend-

ants to bring writing materials. A slate and pencil weregiven to him, on which he wrote cyphers perfectly unintelli.gible, but in the course of a few hours was able to express inwriting some directions which he was desirous should be givento his clerk. During this interview, he was seized with severalparoxysms of sobbing and crying, after which he again fell intoa comatose condition, from which, however, he could at timesbe readily aroused. The application of ice to the head wascontinued throughout the day and night.On the morning of the 6th, his condition was in no degree

improved. He had passed a restless night, and was evidentlyfretful, and, from what he wrote on the slate, desponding asto his painful position. On this day occurred constant

paroxysms of yawning and crying. He made great efforts to,speak, but was unable to articulate a single sound. In theevening he was ordered another brisk aperient, and the sameappliances to the head; sleeping comatose throughout the-night.On the 7th, the pulse had somewhat abated, having fallen

to 96 per minute; the tongue continued furred with white,slimy mucus, although the bowels had again been freely acted’on. On this day, the attendants were much gratified to findthat some improvement had taken place in his articulation, ashe was enabled to give utterance to the monosyllables " Yes"’and "No."

During the four preceding days, when liquids were given tohim, he experienced great difficulty in swallowing, the fluidspartially dribbling down over the right angle of the mouth.He was painfully aware throughout of his inability to performas usual the act of deglutition, pointing to his throat, andwriting down on the slate his fears of being choked. He wasunable to grasp with his lips any vehicle offered to him for the-administration of various beverages. The pain on the left sideof the head was at times referred to, and was combated by thecontinued applications already referred to.He passed a more tranquil night on the 7th, and on the

morning of the 8th appeared more refreshed from his sleep.To-day he could articulate and swallow much better, and gaveus to understand that he had no sensation about the right angle

: of the mouth, nor could he now control the right angle of the. orbicularis oris, as was evidenced whilst lying on his right side, by a constant dribbling of saliva on to the pillow. Every hour-. appeared to evince marked improvement in his articulation.; Paroxysms of crying and yawning still continued, but he passedanother good night.

On the morning of the 9th, he inquired with tolerable dis-tinctness of articulation how I myself felt in my head. (On theprevious evening I had complained to his wife that I was suf-fering from rheumatism of the muscles of the back of the head.)His diet, which up to this time had consisted of cold iced drinksand lemonade, was altered to weak beef-tea and a. tablespoonfulof sherry- and-water about every four hours.From the 10th to the 20th of the month his progress was

slow, but satisfactory; he was able to sit up daily for somehours, and could enter into conversation for short periods witha tolerable degree of distinctness in his articulation.On the 22nd, he was able to join his family at dinner and

tea, and has continued to do so up to the present time. Therestill remains, however, some want of motion and sensation inthe right angle of the mouth, and the tongue, on being pro.truded, is directed slightly to the right side, in consequence ofthe healthy muscles being relieved of the antagonism of thosewhich are paralysed.A question of great practical and pathological importance

now suggests itself-viz., to determine, as far as possible, thacause and condition of the parts involved in this special formof paralysis. I believe that the symptoms above referred to’are readily solved by ascribing them to some slight pressure orstructural change at the origin or in the course of the lingualand glosso-pharyngeal nerves; and I consider that this suppo-sition is fully borne out by the rapid progress the patient hasmade towards convalescence.

THE TRIUMPHS OF THE OBSTETRIC ART.- Dr. W. Farr,in a recent published letter to the Registrar-General on the’causes of death in 1857, notes that the happy decrease of thedanger in child-bearing continues: 42 mothers died to every10,000 children born alive in 1851; in 1847 the proportion was60; in 1848 it was 61; and since that date the mortality hasregularly declined year by year, leaving the average loss in tenyears 51 mothers to every 10,000 children born alive. Thisbranch of medicine, he adds, is cultivated in the present daywith extraordinary zeal by men of superior ability.